Rise
by Frat
Summary: Her father died from stage four cancer and her mother died in a house fire, now Mercedes Jones has nothing and no one and she's living out on the streets of LA. Will a certain pimp help her get on her feet?
1. Rise: Chapter 1

My name is Mercedes Jones. That's Mrryh-Say-Deez Jones. I would tell you all that most of my friends call me Kayce, but I'd be lying. Truth is, people do call me Kayce for short, but I don't have any friends. I'm pretty much just out here in this world on my own. My father passed away from stage four cancer when I was eleven years old and my mother died in a house fire not too long ago.

They told me, after my mother had died, that I would have to go and live with some family. Nope. I couldn't do that, so I ran away-ran as far as my legs would take me. Now, being a big girl, I hadn't run for long and after a while I had found myself sleeping wherever my head gave me leverage.

I could never be used to living like this though. I'd had a good life up until my mother passed away. I was spoiled-had everything anyone could ever think of, but still I had no friends. Don't get me wrong, I had people who I could chill with, but I'd never had any true friends. No wait! There was one girl who I had considered to be my best friend, but that was in middle school and we hadn't lasted long because we were nothing alike. Truth is, we just did not click. While she had every guy on every corner, even when said guy had a girl of his own, I'd never even had a boyfriend; I hadn't even had a chance to have sex.

Not having sex was of my own free will though. Not because I'm insecure of my body or anything, but because my mother had always stressed the importance of not having sex before marriage. After my father died though, she had stopped saying much of anything to me. She had always made sure I had everything and anything I needed, but she just wasn't the same as I'd remembered her to be. She had stopped stressing my curfew, my grades in school, hell she had stopped stressing almost everything to be honest. Since I'd respected her so much though, I had never dared to do anything to hurt her more than she was already hurting so I had respected every one of her wishes no matter what they may have been.

* * *

"Got damn, Bitch! Can you get a bath!"

I continued to walk as a couple of guys threw insults my way. Since LA is so big and since I had been walking these streets for what seemed to be months now, I was sure that I was in another part of town as I recognized nothing and no one.

I needed a bath sure enough, but did people really feel the need to take it upon themselves to announce it every time I walked past them? As if they couldn't already tell that I was going through enough.

"Man, move over on the sidewalk, this hoe reeks of sewage." A guy shoved his friend to get away from me and I wanted to yell out, _"I wasn't always this way, you know."_

I'd quickly decided against it though. Besides, who would care or even more, listen to what I had to say with the ripped jeans and torn shirt that I had on?

"Do you think you could spare a couple of dollars?" I sat on the ground with my one bag and a blanket that I'd found on a bench near a subway.

A woman looked at me and kept walking, and a few others followed behind her, not looking at me at all.

_How do people live this way for so many years?_

I continued to sit there, my stomach growling loudly as people continued to pass me. Women, men, children; they would all just walk past me. How could people be so heartless? At a point in life when everything was good, I'd always felt a pain for those whom I had seen on the side of our roads and even when mama and papa had told me I didn't have to, I'd always given to them. These people of today though were downright horrible.

I hadn't even realized that I'd fallen asleep, until a loud horn honked across the street and woke me up. For me, sleeping was always a way to forget about the hunger. But then there were days when even sleep didn't help and I would be so hungry that I couldn't even close my eyes without it hurting even worse.

I stood up from the ground, grabbed my bag, and folded my blanket as best I could before I started on my way again.

The streets were dark now, except for the lights of the businesses and restaurants. I would sleep in a park tonight, but first I would stop by the restaurants and search their garbages. There were usually pretty good things left behind from by-passers. One night, I'd found a few days worth of meals in one of the garbages behind a restaurant and I couldn't have been more gracious. I'd checked the food and it hadn't looked like anything was wrong with it, so I'd figured the restaurant maybe had gotten an order wrong and had simply thrown it out. I'd eaten good those few days, until I'd been forced to go out and search again.

Tonight I would search as well.

* * *

"Ma'am, you can't sleep in the park," I heard a voice nearby and I quickly sat up. It was an older white guy who looked really bad off. "You'll get in trouble if they see you sleeping here." he added before continuing on his way, and that was the last I saw of him.

It must have been close to sunrise now because I could hear birds chirping and-damn, I sure could use a shower.

Quickly making my way out of the park and down the street, I came to a small diner and I looked up to read the sign before entering. "Hey, may I please use your restroom?"

I didn't expect the woman behind the counter to allow me to do so since they usually sent me away without hesitation, but to my surprise, she nodded her head yes.

I slowly walked to the restroom. There was only a toilet and a sink, so I locked the door before setting my bag down on the floor. I didn't have much, but I would use some of the paper towels and hand soap to cleanse myself then change clothes.

Before I could even take off an article of clothing, a knock came at the door, startling me. I wondered if I should respond and have the woman tell me to come out of the bathroom just to send me away. But if I didn't respond, she would definitely think I were up to something or maybe even dead.

"Yes?" I called out then waited for an answer.

"Can you open the door?" The woman called back, and I sighed.

_Here it was. She was about to put me out._

I opened the door slightly and she held out a small face towel, a bar of soap, and a stack of clothes. "Sometimes I don't change into my work uniform until I come in to work in the morning to unlock the doors." I took the things. "You take as long as you need to now."

I couldn't say anything. I didn't say anything. I simply closed the door again and stared at the things in my hand.

Surprisingly, the clothes that the woman had given me fit, and minutes later I was walking out of the bathroom, having managed to get my long hair to look presentable in the ponytail that I always wore now.

"Thanks." I said softly and with a forced smile. It was sad that I couldn't even find the strength to smile at good deeds anymore.

"No problem." The woman spoke sweetly and with a smile of her own.

I gripped my bag and started to walk towards the door until she called out to me.

"Hey."

I looked back at her.

"My employees won't be in until another hour or so. I could wash your things and maybe you could stay for some breakfast."

Something in me wanted to tell her no thank you, but I wouldn't have dared. Besides, I needed this. Hell, I needed any help that anyone was nice enough to offer my ass.

"I-sure." I responded slowly, now walking back towards her.

She took my things and soon, she was back with a plate full of breakfast and you have to know, my eyes were wide.

"Is this-is all of this mine?" I asked and she nodded with a smile.

"Take as much as you need," Then she gave me a bowl with a lid on it. "And if you can't eat it all now, take some for later."

I did exactly that, piling some of the food into the bowl first before eating the small portion that I'd left out.

"Would you like any syrup?" The woman asked, and I nodded.

She handed me the syrup, and I washed my fingers on a napkin before taking it and pouring some of it on everything on my plate. Maybe I was just terribly hungry, but this was some of the best food I'd ever had in my life.

While I ate, she brought me a tall glass of tea and a small glass of water, and I was done with both of them by the time I'd finished all of my food, so she gave me a bottle of water as well. I would definitely keep the bottle.

As soon as I finished eating, she took my plate and then went back to doing whatever I hadn't noticed her doing in the first place, since I had been so busy stuffing my face.

She wiped down tables and sat things upright, and she looked so content with her life while doing so.

"Your clothes will be dry in a minute." She spoke up all of a sudden, and I nodded my head.

"I'm Mrs. Janette Moore, by the way." She smiled again, and I had to admit her smile was beautiful.

"I'm Mercedes," I said simply. "Mercedes Jones."

"That's such a pretty name." She nodded her head. "I have a daughter whose name is Amiya. I think I might have her name my granddaughter your name once she gives birth next month."

I wanted to smile, to tell her congratulations, but I couldn't. There was no reason to smile about new life being brought into a world like this. "Um-may you tell me what day it is?"

"It's the seventh." The woman said, and I turned my eyebrows down.

"Of what month?"

"What month?" The woman asked. "Baby, it's August."

August? I'd been out in these streets for longer than I'd thought-almost three months now, and I knew this because our home had burned down exactly a week before school let out. "I missed my birthday." I thought aloud.

"Huh?" The woman asked, and I shook my head.

"I just thought it was the early beginning of the month for some reason. My birthday was three days ago if today is the seventh. I turned eighteen."

The woman only looked over at me then. "Well, baby it sounds like you need some cake."

"No-I-no thank you," I said, shaking my head. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't be fine." The woman was already making her way behind the counter again. "I'll just wrap you up a piece and you can have it for later."

And that's exactly what she did.

She wrapped the cake up, gave me my things, and soon, I was on my way again. Going where? I had no clue.

**Heyyy! Did you like it or did you love it? This is a new story I've decided to write and I imagine Acacia as Amber Riley. Let me know what you guys think of my new story and if you do like it please, comment and vote. Let me know if you would like to see more and what you might like to see in the chapters to come. Thank you. Until next time! :)**


	2. Rise: Chapter 2

**Heeyyy! So, here's chapter 2 of "Rise". Now before you start reading, I'm going to tell you that Sam _is_ the pimp in this version, so if you don't think you can read Sam as a pimp, you can go read this exact same story on wattpad: story/16091335-rise-acacia where chapter two has already been posted as well.**

**Amber Riley is Acacia in that story too, but Gerald (Michael Ealy) is my vision for the pimp in that version for right now. If you are okay with reading Sam as a pimp though, go right ahead. Enjoy and please forgive any errors. :)**

"You will only stay with the Johnson family up until you turn eighteen years old which will be in about three months seeing that your birthday is August fourth. You'll be fine, Mercedes, I promise you."

_"You'll be fine, Mercedes."_ At least, that's what she had wanted me to believe.

My mother and my father, and I had moved to LA when I was only two years old and immediately after my late grandmother had died. My grandmother was the only family I had ever known other than my mother, my father, and the aunt that my mother had told me about. I had never once heard from my aunt or saw her, so I cared nothing about her though, and when they had mentioned her to me as someone to stay with up until I turned eighteen years old, I had simply stated, "She won't come."

And I'd been right. They had called her and since she hadn't been obligated to take me in, she didn't. She'd simply said no.

Shortly after they'd spoken with my aunt, I had asked to use the restroom and the woman who had been sitting across from me had nodded her head then told me it was located at the end of the hallway.

I had found the restroom quite easily, and I had gone inside and handled my business quickly.

After I'd washed my hands, I looked up at the mirror, and I couldn't help but stare at the lifeless figure in front of me. My hair had been a mess, my eyes had become swollen even though I hadn't been crying, and my lips had become quite bruised from my biting them. I'd looked terrible, and I hadn't even had a chance to grieve the lost of my mother before they were talking about sending me away to some other family.

Minutes later, a woman walked into the restroom, and I'd looked up at her before quickly grabbing some paper towels to dry my hands. After leaving the restroom, I'd made my way back to the office and placed my hand on the doorknob and- _"Run."_

The voice was clear and it had felt so near to me that I'd had to turn my head and look around myself only to see no one at my side. _"Run."_ I heard it again and I'd slowly taken my hand off of the doorknob before looking around me again. Then, I'd done the craziest thing. I took heed to the voice, and I'd started running.

I didn't know why I was running or where I was even running to, but I was running and I'd ran clean out of those double doors, and then I kept running.

When I had first started to run, I had nothing-not a bag, not a change of clothes, nothing. All of that had quickly changed though as I had continued on my journey to nowhere. I began to pick up things wherever I went even if I had clearly witnessed someone sit an item down to be later retrieved. I had stolen a fairly large hand bag out of a corner stores too. _Yes, the one I take with me everywhere I go now. _With that bag, I had managed to steal two extra outfits for the road and some other helpful things.

Since I have PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, my menstruation cycle has always been pretty fucked up. Sometimes I wouldn't have a cycle for months at a time then other times, it'll come on out of the blue. I always kept pads with me though, and I still do, I swear. Almost every time I'd gone inside of a store, I had opened a pack of pads and taken some out to put inside of the bag which I carry with me everywhere I go now. I guess my not eating was playing another major role with my PCOS too now, since I'd only been spotting since my running away.

I had realized that it wasn't safe for me to stay in town for much longer after I'd started to overhear talk about the girl who was missing. _You know, the one whose mother had died in the house fire._

Some people had even started to spread rumors that I'd died or that I'd committed suicide, and I had left them to believe whatever they wanted to believe as I had continued to run-hiding out during the day most days then finding my food at night. There were only a couple of times where I'd gone inside of a place and had to leave right back out because a police officer was around, or because someone had noticed me from one of the many, "Missing Persons" news articles.

After running away, I had quickly become immune to walking with my head down and when I wasn't walking, I sat with my head down, just as today.

* * *

I was thinking as I sat up against the wall of a building with my head down _once again_. About what? I could have been thinking about all that had taken place over the past three months or maybe I was thinking about the nice woman, Mrs. Janet Moore, and how sweet she had been to me just the other day, but I can't really say. All I do know is that I must have been in deep thought because I hadn't even noticed a guy towering over me until he called out to me.

"Hey, Miss?" He spoke, and I could only imagine how long he had been standing there-trying to get my attention.

"H-huh?" I answered, looking up at him. He didn't look like a cop and even if he were, I would not have cared much at this point. I didn't seem to care about much of anything anymore-not even running.

"Are you, um, are you okay?"

He looked much older than myself, so I was sure that this wasn't his first time seeing a person down on their luck, so I only looked up at him.

"Naw, man." He grabbed the Bluetooth device on his ear while still looking down at me. "I was talking to someone else. I'm gonna call you back."

I wanted to tell him there was no reason to hang up because I really was not about to answer a question that was quite obvious, "Do I look okay? Do I really fucking look okay?" Is what I wanted to say, but I continued to look up at him instead.

"I asked you if you were okay." He stated, and _again, _I said nothing. "Well..." He looked around at the many people passing us on the sidewalk. "Suit yourself." He turned to leave. Just like that? That easy?

"Wait." I quickly stood up. "I-um." He only looked at me now. "Would you happen to have a couple of dollars? Anything. I don't care."

He laughed at me then, and I turned my eyebrows down at him as I couldn't help but think about how rude he was for doing such a thing.

"You want me to give you a couple of dollars when you were just sitting down there, looking up at me like I'm the reason you're out here in these streets in the first place?" He shook his head and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You know what, fuck you." I stated before turning to walk away.

Without another word, he turned away as well and went inside of the building that I'd been sitting up against.

I probably hadn't even made it a block away from where I'd been sitting before a car started to slowly approach me, and you have to know, I took off.

I ran until I could run no more, and before long I was in what looked like an alley-looking around for the car which was out of sight now. I slowed my pace to catch my breath and I was almost at the other end of the alley when the car skidded in front of me, blocking my entrance. I turned around and started to run again, and I swore I would never make it back to the other end, and that's when I felt a hand grab my arm.

"Let me go." I said, fighting with all my might. I was not about to die today, even though I was highly convinced I didn't have much to live for anymore.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." A man's voice spoke calmly and when I didn't calm down, he pinned my arms above my head. "Stop fighting!"

I calmed down then, recognizing him as the man from earlier. "What do you-I don't have anything. I promise. I am broke. I lost my house, I have no family. I'm just trying to survive. Please, don't hurt me." I was sobbing hysterically now.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Lady. I just want to-uhn! Shit!" The man cursed loudly, falling to the ground.

_One to the crotch, that'll teach him not to mess with me. _I took off again.

"Are you crazy?" I heard him from a distance, but I was too scared to even look back and see if he were still on the ground.

I felt that I hadn't made it anywhere before I could hear the muffler of the car behind me again. Shit. I looked back. My mistake. The man had gotten out of his car again, and was holding his crotch as he ran towards me with full speed now. "I'm just trying to give you the money you were asking me for." I heard him say.

_This fool thinks I'm crazy! _Who in their right mind would be chasing another person, whom they knew nothing about, just to give them money? Nope. I wasn't trying to hear that, so I kept running and before long, I was being pinned to the ground.

I tried to scream, but before I'd even gotten the chance to, his hand was over my mouth so I bit it.

"Got damnit!" He yelled out, and I yelled loudly, so he covered my mouth again with his other hand. "You better not bite me again, Girl!" He spoke firmly, and I calmed down almost immediately.

"Now, do not scream." He spoke lowly before taking his hand away from my mouth, and I didn't scream. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to apologize for what I said to you earlier and give you the money you were asking for."

I said nothing as I looked up at him with wide eyes, wishing he would rise up from off top of me because the position we were in at the moment was making me feel hell'a uncomfortable and it made me feel more than violated.

"I'm just gonna get the money now." He spoke calmly, reaching his hand inside of his dark denim jeans only to pull out a wad of money. "Here." He held the money out to me. "I'm sorry I scared you even though you bit the shit out of me and kneed me in my balls."

I took the money and he rose up off top of me then helped me up from the ground as well. _Sixty dollars._ I stuffed the money into my back pocket before I could say something stupid like,_ "this is way too much money" _when it was clearly not enough for the situation I was in.

"Now," He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card. "Here is my card. Call me if you ever need anything else."

_"Evans Entertainment."_ I read the card with the biggest side eye. "This is your business?" I asked.

"Yep." He nodded with a small smile.

* * *

The sixty dollars that Sam Evans _(I had learned his name from his business card.)_ had given me had lasted for almost an entire month. Being in the predicament that I was in now, I'd taught myself to spend wisely. I continued to pocket and bag things whenever I got a chance-only using the money for more important things, like a meal when I absolutely could not find anything at night.

After using most of the money that Sam had given me, I still had twenty-five dollars and seventy-six cents to my name and it wasn't even the end of the month yet.

I started to walk across a street, only picking my head up when a guy decided to yell at me to get my fat ass out of the road. _Did he really have to say all of that?_

Now on the other side of the street, I forced myself to pick up the pay phone. I would call Sam today, no matter how much I didn't want to. Taking the card that Sam had given me from a small pocket of my bag, I carefully dialed the number.

When I thought no one was going to pick up, I immediately began to feel stupid for even dialing the number in the first place, then I heard someone pick up on the other end.

"Evans Entertainment?"

"Hey, I'm wanting to speak with Sam Evans." I spoke into the receiver.

"This is he."

"Um, Sam, this is Mercedes. You might not remember me, but I-"

"Yea, I remember you." He cut me off. "What's up?"

"You said to call you if I ever needed anything, and well I was wondering if you had anything for me to do. I mean, work."

"Yea, sure. Where are you?"

I could not believe his response. _Was this real? You mean to tell me I'd stayed out here when I could have had a possible job?_

I sighed heavily then looked around myself at the buildings and cars passing me by. "I don't know." I looked up at a street sign. "Wait, I see a street sign." I narrowed my eyes to see the words printing on the sign. "It says Fig-Figue-"

"Figueroa Street." He cut me off again and I almost wished he would stop doing that. "I'll be right there. Don't move. What color are you wearing and what building is behind you?"

"Um-there's a Staples Center right down from me. It's to the left of me since I'm facing the road. I'm wearing a dark purple shirt and black sweats."

"Okay. I'm on my way." He stated. "Call me back in exactly ten minutes."

"I don't have a watch!" I exclaimed.

"Whenever you feel like it's ten minutes, then it's ten minutes. Call me back then."

I did just as he had requested-calling him back when I felt the ten minutes were up, and soon, he was pulling up beside me in a black car-a different model from the one he'd been in nearly a month ago.

"Get in." He said after rolling down the passenger's window, and I got in.

"So you want a job, huh?" He asked me and even though he didn't smile-there was a smile clear on his voice.

"Yes." I stated. "I will work really well, and I won't give you any problems. I promise, I won't disappoint you."

"We'll see about that." He said, running his hand over his chiseled face. He looked so put together-quite dapper, if I must say.

"I'm gonna need to do a background check first." He said, startling me as I had been admiring the Rolex on his wrist.

"O-okay! That-that's fine." I replied quickly.

"But first, I need to stop by my house. I was on my way home to check my voicemail when you called me, so you wouldn't mind stopping by with me, will ya?"

"I don't mind." I hesitated. "Sh-sure."

When we made it to his home, my eyes lite up. It was just as big as our home before it burned to the ground. "You live here?" I asked when he parked his car.

"Yep." He said, climbing out of the car and walking around to my side to open the door as well.

"I'll just stay-"

"Come on, Girl." He said, opening the door wider. "Besides, you could use a bath."

His home was beautiful. It was even more beautiful than I'd thought it would be when he'd first opened the door. "This is beautiful. Your wife must have a thing for decorating?" I asked and laughter filled the room.

"Wife?" He laughed loudly. "I'm not married. My mother did most of my decorating. She lives a couple of blocks away in the home I bought for her a few months ago. She doesn't like the fact that her home is so big, but I told her that one day I'll get a wife just for her and give her some grandchildren so that they can fill the empty spaces there on the weekends."

I moved around the living room as he spoke, admiring all of the nice things around me.

"You can take a bath in my room." He stated. "There are fresh towels there, and you can put on one of my shirts while I'll go out and get you something more presentable. I know a place just around the way."

"No." I said quickly. _Shut up, Mercedes!_ "That won't be necessary. I'll just put my things back on. I washed them with the money you gave to me. I'll just buy some more things as I get paid if I get the job."

"It's okay, really." He replied, throwing his hand up. "And trust me, you'll get the job. There are only a few who don't. Now what size do you wear?"

"An extra large." I said without shame.

"An extra large." He chuckled a bit.

_I'm glad you find my weight amusing._

"No really, what size do you wear? You must wear..." He walked up to me then circled me slowly. "I'd say an M/L or a large."

_So he didn't find my weight was amusing, after all. He just thought he knew some shit._

"An M/L!" I exclaimed. "An M/L would cut off my circulation!"

"We'll see." He stated, walking away from me. "My room is upstairs. "Help yourself to whatever, then you can come down and get yourself something to eat if I haven't made it back by the time you get out. If I'm here though, I'll take you out for dinner."

I didn't say anything as he made his way out of the door, and soon, I was making my way up the stairs-admiring everything around me on my way up.

The bathroom was everything a woman could ever want. It was spacious and the huge circle tub that sat in the middle of the floor was more than perfect. I ran myself a nice hot bath. I hadn't had a proper bath in forever, so I was definitely about to enjoy every moment of this.

I stepped out of the pants that the woman had given me and looked at the tag. _14/16_. This must have been a joke. I can't remember the last time I was able to get into a 14/16.

I quickly took off the shirt as well. _M/L._ I almost laughed aloud. There was no way in hell this shirt had just come off of my body.

I dropped the shirt on the floor besides the pants before quickly ridding myself of any other clothing then I walked over to the full length mirror, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

I studied myself closely-my mocha complexion and my full figured body that I loved so much. There were only small changes that had occurred within my body during the past four months, but they were definitely noticeable.

I was aware that my stomach had gotten smaller, but Lord! This was just crazy. I looked at my breasts. They were a 34 C, and they had always been perky as hell so there was not much of a change there. Then, I turned around to view my profile in the mirror. _Okay, okay_. I may have lost some weight over the months but my ass, one of the things I liked most about my body, was still big as hell. I turned back to the mirror. My face was definitely not as chubby as it had been nearly four months ago. As a matter of fact, I was sure that I was as small as I'd ever been in my life, and Jesus-_this small waistline was definitely doing wonders for my full figured shape._

After admiring myself a little longer, I searched the counters and cabinets, locating shampoo and conditioner. They were men's products, but they would have to do since I had nothing else.

I then looked some more until I located clean towels. First, I would bathe then I would shower so I could wash my hair, properly.

I'm sure an hour must have passed before Sam decided to come knocking at the bathroom door. "I'm leaving your clothes on the bed." He spoke loudly after I stopped the shower-ringing my long black hair in the process and watching my curls bounce back in place every time I let it go. My hair had grown even longer.

Before stepping out of the shower, I located the big towel with my eyes shut tightly, and then I patted my hair with the towel a few times.

Wrapping the towel around my still fairly wet body, I got out of the shower and headed towards the bathroom door. "I'm coming out." I said through the door and when I didn't hear him respond, I figured he had left the room.

Walking out of the bathroom with the big white towel secured tightly around me, I made my way over to the bed where there sat a medium sized gift bag-the kind they give you when you make a purchase at a boutique.

Without picking the bag up, I slipped my hand inside of it and pulled out a purple silk dress, some silver heels, and silver jewelry to compliment it. There was even a new underwear set inside of the bag. Thank God, I didn't have to put my torn ones back on. I could barely fit them anymore anyhow.

I picked the things up and quickly made my way back inside of the bathroom. _Why the hell would he buy me a dress? Pants and a shirt would have been just fine._ I shook my head at my ungrateful thoughts. I should be happy that he'd bought me anything at all, and only God knows how much all of this must have cost him.

I admired the dress again. It was absolutely beautiful, and it was my favorite color. I read the tag. _M/L. _"Let's see." I chuckled softly, sitting the dress on top of the bathroom counter.

I took the towel from around my body and dried my body thoroughly before wrapping the towel around my untamed curls. Picking the dress back up, I unzipped it, and instead of putting it on over my head, I slide it up my body.

To my surprise, it fit perfectly and I hadn't even noticed that I had stopped breathing at the sight of myself, until a knock came at the door again.

"I forgot to tell you that I bought you some hair accessories as well." Sam spoke through the closed door.

I hurriedly snatched the towel from my head and yelled, "Come in." Causing droplets of water to fall from my head and onto the dress. _I would let my hair air dry._

"It's-uh-damn girl. I left them down stairs."

"Can you zip me?" I ignored all that he was saying and turned my back so that he could see the zipper.

He walked over to me, and I stood absolutely still.

"You have to move your hair." He said after zipping it halfway, and I quickly reached around to move my hair.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. "And uh-Thank you so much for allowing me to use your bathroom and then buying me this nice stuff. I don't know how I'm going to repay you."

"You won't repay me." He said simply, his hands dropping at his sides. "There you go." He stepped back, and I turned around to view myself again.

"You look beautiful." He said lowly and I swallowed hard, nodding my head.

"Thank you."

"Now, finish dressing then come downstairs so we can go and put something on your stomach."

I nodded again.

* * *

Everything was delicious, and I do mean everything. He took us to a buffet and I swear, I must have eaten at least three plates before we were both sitting there slumped over in our seats, watching the waitresses collect our plates.

"I haven't had a meal that good since Mrs. Moore." I said softly. "And that was only breakfast."

"Mrs. Moore?" He asked. "You have family?"

"Yes and no." I shook my head and if I weren't mistaking, I swear I saw slight disappointment in his eyes. "My mother died in a house fire a couple of months ago before I ran away, and my dad passed when I was eleven."

"Ran away?"

"Yea, this woman told me I was gonna have to stay with some family up until I turned eighteen and my ass took off." I chuckled. "It was pretty stupid of me, I know."

"So you're not eighteen?"

"Yea, I'm eighteen now. I turned eighteen last month actually. August 4."

"Okay, okay." He nodded his head. "That's good, but you know staying with someone until you turned eighteen probably wouldn't have been such a bad idea." He stated. "At least you wouldn't have been out in these streets."

"I wasn't thinking much then." I shrugged. "All I know is that I heard voices all around me and that none of them sounded like my mother's, so I ran. And no matter how much I wanted to go back, I kept telling myself _no_ and that things would get better for me." I chuckled again. "Well, if a drunk or a drug addict didn't get to me first."

He chuckled then too. "Well, I'm happy that didn't happen." He said. "So-uh. What's your name?"

"Mercedes Jones." I responded. "Now aren't we supposed to be talking about work here? I could really use a job and I know you said _no_ to me paying you back, but I have to pay you back for being so kind to me."

"I don't need anything in return for helping you, Mercedes." He said, testing my name on his tongue. "It's my job to help those in need. Women and men-I help em' all. Get em' off these streets and take em' in-make sure their clothed and fed..." He paused. "as long as they don't cross me."

"Who are you supposed to be?" I joked, chuckling softly. It was the first time in a long time I'd found myself being able to laugh.

"I'm Sam Evans." He laughed as well then. "The Sam Evans. If you don't know me by now, you'll learn." He smiled. "Now about that job."

* * *

Sam had never told me exactly what it was that I would be doing, but he did tell me that I would start working as soon as he got a spot for me.

In my waiting, he made sure that I was, what he liked to call a 'kept woman'. He always had me dress up real nice, and he made sure that my hair was always done up nicely too. He stuck to his word and made sure I was fed, and he'd even given up his room so that I could sleep there. I think he slept on the couch or in another room, I'm not sure, but I do know he was nowhere near me while I was sleeping.

It was now nearly two months later, and I had never once met his mother nor any of his other family members or close friends, and I can't say I minded that much. Besides, I barely even knew much about Sam besides the fact that he owned this place in which I was staying and that his last name was Evans. Hell, I didn't even know anything about "Evans Entertainment" and to be honest, I didn't care. I would find out as soon as an open spot became available for me at the job.

"Mercedes?" I heard Sam call out to me, and I climbed off of the king sized bed as I had been watching something on television.

"Yes?" I called out, slipping on some black six inch heels that he had bought for me. Sam had said that it was not of a lady to wear shoes less than six inches, so I wasn't allowed to wear gym shoes anymore-no matter how much heels hurt my feet. He'd told me that I would get used to them. _Shit! When?_

Opening the door to the masters bedroom, I walked out and almost bumped into him.

"I got a spot for you, Baby girl." He spoke, catching me in his arms.

I smiled widely at the news. "Really?" I asked. "I can go to work now?"

"Yep," He answered simply then his face went without expression. "You're gonna be the new girl, but you gotta promise me that no matter how hard you think it is, you won't try and quit on me."

"Quit!" I laughed. "Do you really think I'm going to try and quit. I've waited too long for this."

"Good," He smiled softly. "Because this is my money, our money, and we need it. Okay?"

I nodded. "Of course, Sam. I told you, I'll be a good worker. You'll have nothing to worry about."

"Okay then." He said. "Get dressed. Wear something really pretty to show off your curves then come downstairs."

"Oh my goodness, Sam. This means I can finally start saving up for my own place!" I was so happy. "I'm gonna go change." I hugged him before making my way back inside of the room and to the bathroom to freshen up.

When I made it down stairs, Sam was sitting with a guy who I had never seen before.

"Mercedes, this is James." He said, motioning me over. "Now James is one of our many wealthy clients and he's wanting someone he's never seen before." He smiled.

"Nice to meet you, James." I held out my hand to him, and he stood up from his place on the couch to shake it.

"It is nice to meet you too-humph, humph, humph! Damn, girl!" He turned me around to look at my ass, speaking slowly and staccato like.

I narrowed my eyes and snatched away then looked over at Sam who was still sitting on the couch-looking quite content.

"You're gonna go with him, okay?" He said, standing up too now, and I nodded my head. "Be good, and I wanna know all about how your first day went when you get back."

"Okay." I smiled softly and he smiled back before looking over at the guy.

"James, treat her well."

* * *

"What-wait-what are you doing?" My eyes were wide as the guy I'd meet less than an hour ago, parked his car in a dark alley and started to undo his pants in the drivers seat.

"I'm about to get my dick sucked. What you mean?" The man spoke to me like this was something that had been planned between the two of us.

"What?" I asked. "No!" I smacked his hand away when he reached over and grabbed me.

"Get over here girl, don't play with me. You think I'm about to pay you to sit in that seat and look pretty?" _Did he? I am not-_

"I'm not a hooker!" I yelled at him, smacking his hand away again.

"The hell you ain't!" He yelled back. "This is _Evans Entertainment_ and I'm here to get my dick sucked. Come on now, girl. Quit playing!"

He reached over and grabbed me again, and I bit him hard before opening the door and before I could get out, he caught ahold of me-pulling at my dress.

"Let me go!" I turned around and punched him. I do not know where I hit him at, I just know it must have hurt him pretty badly because he screamed and let me go immediately.

I found myself running, then my running had slowly turned into quick footsteps as the image played over in my head again and again. _I am not a hooker. How could Sam-_

I was cut off by a hand grabbing my arm and pulling me, hard.

"Get your hands. Off. Of. Me!" I struggled to get away.

"Stop fighting girl, and get in this car!"

It was Sam.

After managing to get me into the car, Sam climbed into the drivers side and I immediately lashed out on him-screaming, hitting, scratching, biting and whatever else I could do to harm him.

"Calm down!" I heard him yell at me through the hits, but I didn't stop. "I said calm your ass down." He grabbed my hands and held them tightly. "Now sit your ass back and be cool, girl."

I didn't talk all the way back to the house and neither did Sam. I just looked at him, and I could tell that he knew I was looking at him because he just would not look over at me.

"Get out." He spoke firmly when we finally pulled up at his home.

He opened my door for me and I climbed out of the car without a word, and he didn't wait to close the door for me as he went on to open the front door to the house.

"I know damn well you don't have an attitude with me, Sam!" I yelled before I could even close the front door. "You sent me off with some man like I was some kind of hooker!" He simply sat down on the couch, burying his face in his hands. "You must be out of your fucking mind! I am not a hooker. I don't suck dick or have sex for money!"

"You do whatever I tell you to do!" He spoke up. "And what you did today, I could-you just lost yourself some good dough girl." He shook his head, standing up and walking towards me now.

"Whatever you tell me to do, Sam?" I asked, my eyes wide as he approached me now. "Is this the job you had me waiting for? This is what _Evans Entertainment _is about? Because if so, you got me fucked up!"

"Oh, I got you fucked up?" He asked. "You weren't saying that when I was taking you out and buying you all of those pretty things and never asking for anything in return, now were you?"

"You were doing most of those things on your own!" I spoke loudly.

"I don't care!" He yelled at me. "Now, we gone try this again later on today. I got another client-"

"Fuck you!" I yelled again, cutting him off. "Fuck you, your clients, and this house! Fuck all the shit you gave me, and fuck you again!" I started to walk away, and he grabbed me.

"Where you going, Mercedes, huh? He asked calmly, his eyebrows turned down.

"Wherever I feel like going."

"Nowhere with this dress on that _I_ bought for you." He pulled me close to him.

"Let me go." I said firmly.

As if I weren't speaking to him, he roughly tugged the dress down off of my shoulder and I gawked. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"Don't I look serious?" He looked down at me with dark eyes. "I'm a grown ass man, Mercedes. I handles mine, and I don't have time for a little ass girl to come in here and think she bout to play with my business just because she has a pretty face and a nice ass." He ripped the arm of my dress, and I snatched away from him.

"Stop." I backed away, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. I'd never seen him like this before.

"Stop now, huh?" He grabbed me again, and I flinched.

"Sam, move." I pushed him, and he pulled the other sleeve down and off of my shoulder to the point where my bra was almost visible now. "Get. Off. Of. Me!"

"Get out of my shit! Didn't you say fuck all the shit I gave to you? Take my dress off then!"

"What am I supposed to wear then, Sam? You threw my clothes away!" I cried loudly.

"I don't know, and I don't care." He pulled my dress down some more, and I fought at him.

"Stop it!" I yelled, hitting at him. He took the licks while continuing to undress me. "Let me go!" I punched him in the face, hard, and he stopped-holding his face and looking down at me.

I hit him again then, and again, and several more times after that. "If you would've told me this was what you wanted me to do, I would have never taken the job! I would have never stayed, Sam. Never!" I was hitting him as hard as I could now, and he was still taking the licks. "How could you?" I cried some more and he grabbed my wrists, holding them up in the air.

"Get out." He said simply before walking off. "And when I get back, you better be gone."

**Haylo again! Did you like it or did you love it? I hope you loved it. What do you think of Sam and is there anything you have to say about Mercedes? Also, do not worry, Mercedes _will_ grieve the lose of her mother or talk about her grieving the lose of her mother in chapters to come, so don't think I'm letting the death of her mother go that easily because I wouldn't dare. I want to know what you think though, so please leave a review with your feedback. Which story would you guys like for me to update next?**

**Also, I would really appreciate it if you guys will go and view my story on wattpad. You don't even have to read that version since it's the same thing with different main characters, but if you will _please_ just open the book on wattpad and vote and comment on the chapters, I will be more than grateful. Thank you all. Until next time! :)**


	3. Rise: Chapter 3

_I don't need this._

I marched up the stairs of Sam's home. He had bought me these things, so I was going to take them with me whether he liked it or not. I quickly changed out of my ripped dress, putting on a pair of blue jeans and a tee shirt. Then, I looked around the floor of the room. There was no way in hell I was about to put on heels.

As a matter of fact, I was not even about to leave this house. Nope. Sam had me fucked up.

I sat down on the bed and scooted up to the headboard, pulling my knees up against my chest.

The last time someone had told me to get out, I'd done just that.

* * *

I'd been stuffing my bag as much as I could when a shorter Latina woman walked around the aisle and started yelling at me.

"You put all of that stuff right back this instance, and get out!" The woman spoke loudly, and I had been relieved that there were no other people inside of the store with us as she fussed.

"I saw you on the security camera, stuffing your bag." She began to walk towards me, and I backed away. "I ought to call the police. Yes, that's exactly what I'm going do." She tried to snatch my bag then, and I quickly snatched away from her and started to run.

I ran off of the aisle then down another aisle, quickly making my way back to the entrance of the store.

She had continued to fuss at me, but I hadn't understood much of it as my heart had begun to beat rapidly and as my breathing had picked up immensely.

I'd ran right out of that store and around the corner, and I had continued to run.

* * *

I wouldn't run away this time. Nope. I refused to run, and I absolutely refused to let Sam get rid of me so easily.

I continued to sit in my place on the bed, and before long, I could hear the front door close downstairs.

I straightened up. Sam was back, and I knew he would come and check to see if I'd left yet or maybe to see if I'd taken some of the things he'd bought for me.

I was right. He entered into the room, and I looked up and him.

"You're still here." He said simply, taking his watch off and setting it on top of the dresser across from the bed.

"Look, Sam." I quickly sat up, now kneeling on the bed as he approached me.

"Get up." He spoke calmly, and I made my way off of the bed and to the other side of it-far away from him.

"I don't want to go." I said softly, shaking my head, and he chuckled.

"This is not about what you want. It's about what you're going to do." He started to walk around the bed, and I quickly jumped on top of it again.

"I'm not leaving."

"I'm not about to chase you, girl." Sam was standing at the foot of the bed now, looking up at me. "Get down."

"No, because you're gonna-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, Sam had hoped onto the bed and caught me by my ankle before I could get off of the bed again.

He pulled me hard, yanking me down from off top of the bed, and I had felt the sting of the carpet against my arms and elbows as soon as I hit the floor.

He began to pull me across the carpet by my ankles, and I could only try to get out of his grasp. He didn't stop though, and soon, he was pulling me out of the door of the bedroom and to the top of the stairs.

"Sam, stop!" I yelled. "I'll get up, I'll walk.

He stopped then and looked down at me. My eyes were stinging from the tears that were begging to fall, but I wouldn't cry. I couldn't.

"Get up then!" He spoke loudly, and I quickly stood up from the floor-my breathing heavy.

I slowly began to walk down the stairs with Sam following close behind me.

"I give you all this shit, take you in, care for you, and you wanna do what you wanna do," He muttered behind me. "It ain't like ya got nothing, and ya ain't got nobody, so yo ass should be respectful enough to respect my wishes."

"If you know I don't have anyone, why are you trying to make me leave!" I fussed loudly. I really wanted to cry, but I wouldn't do it.

"I don't wanna hear shit you gotta say!" He spoke back at me. "Hurry the fuck up! Walk faster."

I picked up my speed a little, finally making it to the bottom of the stairs only to see a woman sitting on the couch.

Her skin was light and her hair was curly. She was quite beautiful, since I'm usually an honest individual. I turned to Sam, "Who is she?"

"You ain't come down here to ask questions, girl."

"So you couldn't wait until you were sure I was gone?"

Sam didn't say anything as he looked over at the woman now. "Go upstairs, and wait for me." He told the woman, and she stood up from her place on the couch.

She walked towards the two of us with her long legs and her petite body. She could have been a model, I swear. I couldn't help as I stared at her-simply admiring her beauty as she made her way towards us now, and she looked back at me and rolled her eyes after continuing past me.

"Bitch." I said before I could even stop myself, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Bitch?" She questioned, looking back at me like she was going to do something about it.

"That's what I said." I began to approach her, and Sam grabbed my arm. "I don't know what you're rolling you eyes at me for. I'm not his woman, and I'm not fucking him."

The woman chuckled then. "You know what, little girl..."

"Uh uh." Sam shook his head. "Shut up, and take your ass upstairs."

Without another word, the woman did as she was told, and I turned back to Sam before she was even half way up the stairs. I shook my head at him, and he looked as if he were about to say something, so I held my hand up.

"You don't have to tell me again. I'm leaving."

* * *

I'd made it at least a few blocks away from Sam's home when I started to feel a sharp pain in my right foot.

I lifted my foot only to see blood that was now on the bottom of my heel, then I looked back. There was a trail of blood behind me as well.

I sat on the curb to study my foot, and I could not believe it. _How the hell could a small piece of glass have done so much damage? _I started to pick the glass out of my foot as a car speeded my way then slowed down.

"You good?"

I looked up to see a dark skinned man who was now looking down at me from the window of his car.

"Yea," I said, managing to get the glass out of my foot then standing up slowly. "I just have a small cut, that's all."

"You're bleeding pretty badly there." The guy said, and I shook my head.

"It's really not as bad as it looks," I responded. "I'll be fine."

"Well, I could take you to the emergency room, if you'd like."

Another car pulled up behind his car and honked the horn. "Go around!" The guy yelled out of his window, and the car wasted no time speeding around his car. He turned his attention back to me then, "I'm sorry, but as I was saying, I could take you to the ER. With the way you're bleeding, I'm sure you're going to need some stitches."

"Oh, no." I shook my head. "Besides, I couldn't possibly afford the emergency room."

"That's fine," The man answered quickly. "I got you. Get in."

I hesitated. _It wasn't like my life could get any worse than it already was._ I got into the car, and he simply pulled off-watching the road intently.

"So why are you not wearing shoes anyhow?" The guy asked, breaking the silence.

"I-uh." _Lie, Mercedes._ "My boyfriend and I just had a really bad breakup, so I left. I didn't grab anything. I just left." I shook my head. "I hadn't been thinking much. I guess I was just ready to get away."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The man said, and I shook my head.

"No, don't be sorry. It's okay."

Minutes later, we were pulling up to the hospital, and the man quickly made his way to my side of the car to open the door.

He helped me out, and I moved away from him. "Thank you, but I can walk myself."

"Okay." He threw his hands up with a smile. "So, what's your name?"

"Mercedes Jones." I said simply, and he held out his hand to me.

"Nice to meet you, Mercedes," I shook his hand. "I'm Rick Moore."

I'd needed stitches just as Rick had suggested, and shortly after leaving the emergency room, we were pulling back up to Sam's home where I'd given him the directions to drop me off.

"This is a nice house" Rick said, up at the house as he stopped the car. "Who lives here?"

"My cousin." I lied again. "I'm gonna have her take me home to get the rest of my things, then I'm gonna go stay with my mother." I opened the door of the vehicle. "I know I'm not going back to Eric though." I shook my head. "With his pathetic ass."

"Well, I hope everything works out just fine." He paused as I started to get out of the car. "Oh, Uh-Mercedes?"

"Yea?" I answered, looking back at him.

"Can you call me if you ever need anything?" He asked.

_Say something, Mercedes!_ "Is that your way of asking for my number?" I asked on a small smile. _Girl, yo ass don't even have a phone. Why would you say that?_

"That is, if you're willing to give it to me." He smiled softly as well.

"I'll tell you what then." I said, still looking down at him. "How about you give me _your_ number, and whenever I go get my phone from the house, I'll lock your number in?"

"That's fine." He said, reaching over to retrieve a piece of paper and a pen from his glove department to write his number down.

He held it out to me, and I took it. "Thank you," I said quickly. "For all of this."

"You're welcome." He replied, and I was sure he was watching me as I closed the door and turned to walk towards the house.

_Drive off, man._

_"_Bye, Mercedes." I heard him, so I looked back at him again. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too." I waved, and he finally pulled off. _Thank you, God._

As soon as Rick pulled off, I quickly walked up to the door and lifted my hand up to the door, ready to knock. _Come on, Mercedes. Knock girl. _I dropped my hand at my side before slowly sitting down on the ground. _No, Mercedes. Get up! _I forced myself tostand up then to knock on the door.

It took Sam no time at all to open the door, and I stepped back a little when he glared down at me. "So, you're back?"

"I-uh, I don't have anywhere else to go." I said, and he simply walked out of the house-his car keys in his hands.

"Sam, please." I grabbed his arm, and he looked down at my hand on his arm.

**Hours earlier**

"Your ass don't know how to act anywhere you go." Sam shook his head at the woman sitting on his bed as he walked into the master bedroom.

"She said something to me first." The woman shrugged.

"Damn, Malaysia!" Sam spoke again. "You don't have to respond to everything that someone says to you. "Besides, I saw you roll your eyes at her."

"Whatever, Sam." Malaysia replied. "What do you want?"

Sam held his hand out to her, and she reached into her bra-taking out a wad of money. "Here." She handed it to him. "Don't ask me about Jenifer, Laura, or Lisa because I've told you before that I'm not keeping up with them anymore."

Sam rubbed his hands together, "And I've told your ass before to stop talking to me like you want to run this here thing that I've got going!" He spoke loudly. "Now, when I called you earlier today, what did I tell you?"

"I'm not acting like I want to-"

"What! Did I tell you?" Sam walked over to Malaysia and put his hand around her neck, lifting her head up so that she could look into his eyes.

"Damn, Sam!" She pushed his hand away. "You said to have your money, and that you needed to talk to me about something. Now, I brought you the money that _I_ made."

"But why do you not have _all_ of my money?" He held the bills up in her face.

"Because your other girls don't listen to me anymore." Malaysia answered. "They do what they want, and it's because you let em."

"Who did I put in charge?" Sam argued.

"Me, but-"

"But shit, Malaysia!" He cut her off. "If you can't handle this, I'll find someone who can."

"Man, whatever." Malaysia shook her head. "Is that all you wanted?"

Sam exhaled deeply. "The girl you just saw," He started. "Her name is Mercedes Jones."

Malaysia nodded her head, "Yea, I know. You told me about her before, and?"

"And!" Sam spoke loudly. "I need you to train her."

Malaysia shook her head.

"What the fuck you shaking your head for?"

"Sam, that girl is a baby!" Malaysia exclaimed. "Now, I told you I ain't helping you bring no mo of these young ass girls into the business anymore. I'm not training her. She probably still has milk behind her dirty little ears."

"She ain't no damn baby." Sam replied. "She's eighteen, and I _need_ you to talk to her into it."

"Eighteen." Malaysia laughed. "Why don't you just force her like you did me when I was eighteen then?"

"Because it hadn't been hard to get you to say yes."

"Fuck you, Sam." Malaysia spat, "I was still a virgin when you put me out there."

"Look, I ain't bring you in here to talk about what you _used_ to be." Sam shook his head. "I'm trying to get this girl in the business."

"What has she done so far?" Malaysia asked.

"I tired to get her to go with James earlier today." He replied. "You know James."

"Yea." Malaysia answered. "And _you know_ I hate his ass."

"But he gives you girls good money." Sam said quickly.

"Yea, that's about all because his dick ain't worth shit."

Sam shook his head at her comment, "Anyhow, he called me and told me she ran off."

"Did you even warn the girl what she was in for?"

"No, because if I-?" Sam asked.

"See, you need to stop that shit right there." Malaysia cut him off, shaking her head. "You can't be throwing people in that water and expecting them to be okay with it."

"If I would have told her, do you really think she would have stayed here as long as she did?"

Malaysia shrugged. "Maybe this just isn't for her then."

"You telling me what's best for my business again?" Sam asked.

"No." Malaysia stated.

"So you'll train her, or do I have to get one of the other girls to do it?"

Malaysia shook her head. "They can barely handle themselves. I'll train her."

"That's what I'm talking about." Sam smiled smugly. "Talk to her, and reassure her that everything is going to be just fine."

"How am I going to find her though?" Malaysia asked. "You just put the girl out."

"Don't worry about all of that." Sam put his hand up. "I knew what I was doing. She ain't got nothing and no one, so she won't stay away for long. She'll come back, and when she does, I'll bring her to you."

"Alright." Malaysia nodded her head.

"Now, come on." He motioned for her to get up. "I need to go get the rest of my money, or somebody bout to die today."

**Present Time**

Sam held out a key to me, and I took it from his hand.

"Go inside." He said lowly. "I'll be back later."

I didn't say one word as I unlocked the door then walked inside of the house before closing the door behind myself. There was no way I was about to mess this up again.

I'd taken a shower, and I'd changed the bandages on my foot by the time Sam had made it back inside of the house.

"I bought you something to eat." He spoke loudly, banging on the bathroom door, and I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Okay." I said softly, biting my lip.

He started to walk off, but then stopped to look down at my foot which was wrapped up in the bandages.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

"I stepped on a piece of glass after you put me out of the house today." I answered simply.

"Who took you to the hospital?"

"I didn't get his name." I lied.

"Oh," He shrugged. "I guess I'll need to go out and get you some shoes or something in the morning then."

"I guess so." I said simply.

* * *

The next morning had been a lot more awkward than I'd expected. Sam had stuck to his word, and he'd taken me to get new shoes, then we'd rode around for a while before pulling up to an apartment complex.

"Come on." He climbed out of the car and then waited for me to get out as well before leading me up a flight of stairs.

He used a key to open the door to an apartment, and then stepped inside of it-waiting for me to enter as well.

I walked in slowly after him and looked around at the women who were all sitting around the fairly large living room. I was just about to ask him what we were doing here, but then I noticed her-the woman from earlier.

"Malaysia, this is Mercedes." He said, introducing me to the woman then looking down at me. "Mercedes, that's Malaysia."

I said nothing as I looked at the woman who was sitting on the couch across from where I was standing.

_Why the hell was Sam introducing me to one of his bitches anyhow?_

**Author's Note: Heyyy! Did you like it or did you love it? Mercedes, are you well? Gerald is clearly no good for you. I would rather a person leave me out on the streets than to bring me into their home and then treat me as if I am nothing. Lawd. What do you guys think of Malaysia though? Oh, and what do you think of Rick? Would you like to see more of him or nah? Until next time! :)**

**_Please, _do not forget that this same exact story can be viewed on wattpad with different characters, and with Amber Riley as the main character, Acacia Jones. Please view the story there as well if you have time, and leave a comment if possible. The direct link to the story is in my bio.****Thank you all. Oh, and next up is "A Woman's Worth". Until next time! :)**


	4. Rise: Chapter 4

**Hey! I'm back with another chapter of "Rise Acacia". Now someone asked me if this story would contain any other characters from Glee or if it would merely contain Samcedes with new characters. The answer to that question is, it will definitely only contain Samcedes with new characters. Because, as stated before, this was not intentionally a Glee fanfic to begin with, but I wanted to share it with you all. I refuse to change every name in this story though. It's already a lot of work changing Gerald and Acacia's name to Sam and Mercedes when some don't even seem to appreciate _that_ much. Anyhow, here's chapter 4. Enjoy! :)**

**Oh and, I almost forgot. Dear reader, who keeps leaving a comment and telling me to "update" on nearly every chapter after I've JUST updated: You are rude as hell. You cannot possibly know how discouraging it is to simply see the word "update" as a review after working hard to give a good story/chapter.**

I was standing by the door across from where Malaysia was sitting, wondering what the hell had possessed Sam to bring me here in the first place.

"Why are we here?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I want you to get to know Malaysia." He answered simply, using a hand to motion the woman over.

_He must have had me confused with someone else._

She stood up from the couch, and I turned to look up at him.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked. "She clearly doesn't like me. I don't want to get to know her."

"Little girl, I don't even know you." Malaysia said, still coming towards the two of us.

"And I just said, I don't want to get to know-"

"Hush!" Sam held his hand up in the air, rudely cutting me off. "Now, as I was saying," he looked down at me. "You two are going to get to know each other." He looked over at at Malaysia. "And your ass needs to show some hospitality."

"Hospitality, my ass." Malaysia said, putting her hand on her hip. "She'll learn quickly to speak when she enters into someone's home, instead of giving them mouth."

I ignored all that Malaysia was saying as she ran off at the mouth about me. Besides, I'd never been the one for talking anyhow.

"I'll be back to get her in about an hour." Sam ignored all that she was saying as well and when he started towards the door, I grabbed his arm.

"I'm not staying here."

"You'll be fine." He said, looking down at me now. "Malaysia will treat you as if you are one of our own," he looked up from me and at Malaysia. "Isn't that right, Malaysia?"

"Yea, yea." Malaysia waved her hand at Sam while looking down at me. "I'll treat her well."

* * *

As soon as Sam had left the apartment, the women in the room began to talk-their eyes on me as I simply stood by the door.

"You can sit on the couch, if you want." Malaysia offered, walking over to one of the empty couches and sitting down.

I shook my head at her offer.

"What, you think you better than us?" I looked across the room at a dark skinned woman who was seated on top of a stool at a bar. She looked a little bit older than myself, and her hair was a mess, even though it was long.

_It could have been a weave._

"Did I say I thought I was better than y'all?" I asked, cutting my eyes at the woman.

"You gotta think _something_." Another woman spoke up. She was sitting on a stool right beside the other woman's stool, and she looked to be of another ethnicity, but I couldn't be sure. "You standing over there by the door like you scared to come in when Malaysia just told you that you were free to take a seat."

"Shut up, Jenifer and Laura!" Malaysia said, putting a hand up at the women. "I know y'all just heard Sam tell us to treat the girl with some damn class."

"No, he told _you_ to treat her with class." The lighter woman argued.

"Well, now I'm telling _y'all_." Malaysia argued back. "Shut up, or y'all can go to the back until she leaves." They didn't say another word.

_She had told them off, but I still didn't like her ass either._

"Mercedes?" Malaysia called out to me, and I looked over at her. "That loud mouth one right there is Jenifer," She pointed at the girl with the messed up hair.

_So the other one must be Laura. _

She pointed at the other girl now. "That's Laura," _I was right. _"And this one right here," she pointed to the white woman who was sitting on the couch directly across from the couch that she was sitting on. "This is Lisa."

I didn't respond. I didn't even wave a hand at them to try and act like I cared about their existence, because I didn't.

"Women, that's Mercedes." She nodded her head my way when I didn't speak up. "Sam said she told him that she wants to be a part of the business, so he asked me to talk to her."

"I didn't tell Sam a got damn thing." I spoke up.

"There ya go, girl. Talk to me." Malaysia smiled then, and her smile was absolutely beautiful. "Sam asked me to talk to you, and that's all I want to do." She added. "We can't make you do anything you don't want to do, but we can tell you the benefits of sticking around."

"Yea, you wake up in the middle of the nights to cold sweats, you feel worthless, and you wonder what ever made you want to do something so damn foolish in the first place." I looked over at Laura who was speaking now.

"Laura, shut your super depressed ass up." Jenifer laughed at her before grabbing a glass and pouring a clear liquid into it and handing it over to her.

She took it.

"Seriously though," Jenifer spoke up now. "There is some good money out here in these streets. You just have to know how to get it, and like Malaysia said, no one is going to make you do anything that you don't want to do."

"You'll just keep coming back, even if you don't want to." Laura spoke again, "Especially if it's the only thing you have."

"Or the only family you have." Lisa spoke up finally, and I looked down at her. "Once you get in, you can't get out." She hesitated. "Well, you won't _wanna_ get out if you're honest with yourself."

"I know I don't want to get out." Jenifer spoke again, and I looked over at Malaysia who seemed to be taking it all in as she listened to the women around her.

"You don't want to get out because you've only been in for a little under a year now." Laura replied, sipping her drink.

"Then, why are you still here?" Jenifer asked Laura.

"Didn't I just say this is the only thing I have?" Laura replied, looking over at the girl. "Don't try and put my business out there, Jen."

"I'm not trying to put your business out there." Jenifer argued. "It's no secret that you only made it to the eighth grade."

Laura looked over at Jenifer again then, her eyes threatening.

"Okay, you two." Malaysia spoke up for the first time in a long time. "Do not start."

"Why are you here?" I spoke up as well now, looking down at Lisa who was seated quietly on the couch.

She simply looked up at me, and soon, the other women were all looking at her as well. "I was a teen mother." She started. "I was 16 years old, and pregnant, and trying to finish high school all while working a job that paid minimum wage. Then I had my baby, and my mother had put me out of the house. I'd continued to work, even though it was hard, then I met Sam shortly after I'd turned 17 years old. I had been in and out of the shelter for a while, and he took me in." She was staring off into space as if trying to remember every detail.

"He had been so kind to me. He'd let me live with him, and then one day, he asked me if I wanted to work for him. He explained it all to me, and I didn't oppose. His offer sounded good, too good, and I had known that it was very much needed, so I took up his offer." She ran a hand through her hair and leaned forward in her seat. "Been here ever since."

"What happened to your baby?" I asked softly.

"Six years ago, Jayden had just turned two years old. I left him at home, and I promise, I was only going out to get him some more milk." She was staring off again. "I couldn't find anyone to watch him, and since the store was right around the corner, I placed him in his playpen, and I left. Then, shortly after leaving the house, I had received a call that my apartment was on fire."

I quickly glanced around the room at the other women, and I could definitely see the hurt in their eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that." I said softly. "Did he-"

"Die?" She asked, cutting me off. "No," She shook her head. "He's still alive. He's eight years old now and living with his grandmother in Chicago. Not my mother." She chuckled softly. "But his father's mother. The bastard who ran off on me after finding out I was pregnant. He hadn't wanted anything to do with my son, yet he helped his mother get full custody of him. I can't even say I'm mad about it though." She smiled softly. "Because, I know he's living better than me."

"Do you ever see him?" I was asking way too many questions now.

"Nope." She replied simply. "I speak to him over the phone every now and again though. But I hope to one day be making so much money that I'll be able to get him back." She paused. "Not here though, and not like this. I'll be completely done with this lifestyle."

"It will happen for you too, Lisa." Jenifer said softly, her voice assuring. "Just watch and see. You'll be making so much money that you'll get Jay back, and everything will be perfect."

_It was almost cute how easily taken in this girl was._

"I've talked to women who started off just like us," Jenifer added, pointing around the room. "and they are making good money now. They have jobs and husbands, and I know it'll work out for you as well." She smiled. "It might work out for me too."

Just then Malaysia looked over at me, "You see, Mercedes." She smiled softly. "It's not as bad as you may think."

I opened my mouth to say something, but she spoke quickly.

"And-" she held up her hand. "Before you say anything, think about the money you'll be making." She pointed at the women in the room. "They'll tell you, right here that you'll be making way more than any lil job out there will pay you."

"She's right." Jenifer answered, nodding her head. "I had a job before. It didn't pay shit like this one."

"Also-" Malaysia eyed Jenifer. "As long as you do right by Sam, he'll do right by you."

Laura nodded her head at that statement.

"Yea, _you_ should know how many times Sam has had to go upside your head for getting wrong with him." Jenifer said softly.

"Malaysia, I'ma ask you one time to tell Jenifer to stay off of my case." Laura looked over at Malaysia. "Cause I ain't said shit about the dumb ass decisions she be making."

Malaysia glared at Jenifer then. "How many times has Laura whooped your ass for talking?" She asked, and the smaller woman threw her hands up in defeat.

"Alright then." Malaysia stated. "Now as I was saying, Mercedes." She looked back at me. "I won't lie like it won't be hard when you first start off. I mean the money _will_ be good, but it'll be just like any other thing that you start at. It'll be difficult at first, but once you get used to it, it'll become a part of who you are."

"Yep, and-"

"Be quiet, Jenifer!" Malaysia cut the woman off before she could even finish her statement, and the four women all laughed.

"I'm just trying to help though." Jenifer stated.

"I know, Jen, but your ass talks entirely too much." Malaysia said, standing up from her spot on the couch.

She started towards me, and I didn't move. _I couldn't move._

"I'll tell you what," She said softly, all up in my personal space now. "You give it a chance, and if you don't like it, I'll pay you for the rest of this week on my own." She smiled, "And then you can leave, go wherever you want to go."

I looked her directly in her eyes then-eyes that could not be read.

"How much?" I asked.

* * *

_Twenty-five hundred dollars, and allI had to do was try it._

I didn't even have to like it, and there was twenty-five hundred dollars in it for me.

"Twenty-five hundred?" I asked, looking Malaysia in her face as she was standing directly in front of me.

"Yep." Malaysia nodded.

"And I get it in full?"

"Paid in full." She nodded again.

"Okay." I nodded as well this time.

"Alright then," she smiled widely. "I'll come and pick you up tomorrow night at eight, and I promise you won't regret this decision."

**Heeyy! Did you like it or did you love it? As I've told you guys before, this story can be viewed on wattpad as well. I update it there first since it's being updated in parts instead of long chapters like on fanfic net, so you might be able to read more there before it's posted here. Don't forget to leave a review, and I promise I'm going to get around to "A Woman's Worth." Until next time! :)**


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